Valve for inflated articles



Jan. 3, 1939. J RIDDELL 2, 142,4l4

VALVE FOR INFLA'IED ARTICLES Filed March 6, 1957 Patented Jan. 3, 1939 PATENT OFFICE vanva roa nuns-rm narrows John '1. lliddcll, Chicago, Ill.

Application March a, 1037. Serial No. 129,395

9 Claims. This invention relates to air self-sealing valves for inflated articles and particularly to such devices arranged to be completely encased within the inflated article obviating any protrusion on the outer surface thereof.

Self-sealing valves of this nature that have been heretofore provided are generally of two types; one comprising a valve casing having a central cavity fllled with a liquid, air-drying rubber, intended for the puncturing insertion of a.

hollow inflating needle, the liquid rubber being adapted to heal the punctures made by the inflating needle upon the withdrawal of the same; and the other comprising a rubber valve body having a small passage therethrough into which an inflating needle maybe inserted, the body being so arranged that either the internal pneumatic pressure in the inflated article will cause collapse or stricture of the passage upon withdrawal of the inflating needle, or a surrounding contracting member will so constrict the valve body as to close the passageway therethrough.

These devices have proven unsatisfactory in several respects. In the flrst type of valve it is found that the fluid rubber will clog theinflating needle, often causing annoying delay and trou- 'b1e. In the latter type of valve it is found that the valve body is easily torn by the inflating neede, often so as'to completely ruin it for further use, particularly when the inflating needle is carelessly used or when it is forced through the valve body at an angle to the axis of the valve passage.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved self-sealing air valve that will of itself tend to direct an inflating needle in an axial direction; to provide such a device that is self-sealing without the aid of a cavity or pocket of healing fluid; to provide'such a device that is self-sealing regardless of the location in the valve body of the apertures formed by the inflating needle; to provide such a device that may be readily applied to the inside of an inflated article without causing any irregularity or protrusion from the external surface of the article; to provide an improved self-sealing valve of simplified construction and greatly reduced manufacturing cost; to provide such a device having increased durability and that is not subject to deterioration due to successive applications of an inflating needle; and to provide an improved method of forming self-sealing valve bodies.

A specific embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

(01. us-as) Fig. 1 is a view of a playing ball embodying the improved valve structure.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged partially sectioned detail of one form of the improved valve illustrating the manner in which the valve element may be mounted in a retaining member.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a method of forming the improved valve.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a manner of applying the valve to the bladder of an inflated article and showing another form of the valve element.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view illustrating a manner of locating and applying a bladder together with the improved valve onto the inner surface of a 16 playing ball carcass.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of an inflated and completed playing ball showing the application of the improved valve.

Fig. '1 is a sectional view showing the valve element of Fig. 4 with a reinforcing patch.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 6, but showing the arrangement of the flnished article when the valve and reinforcing patch of Fig. 7 are employed, and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a tennis ball structure embodying the improved valve.

As shown in the drawing, the improved valve is applicable to inflated playing balls such as basketballs, footballs, soccer balls and tennis balls and the like; the particular balls illustrated being a basketball and a tennis ball. The improved valve is particularly adaptable to inflated ball constructions of the nature disclosed in my 00- pending applications, Serial No. 37,905, flled August 26, 1935 and Serial No. 44,925, flled October 14, 1935, wherein a carcass is flrst made by sewing together shaped segments of rubber impregnated fabric material, turning the carcass so formed inside out, inserting a bladder through an opening provided therefor, sewing up said opening, inflating the bladder and the carcass and then applying an outer protective covering by cementing strips of leather shaped as segments of. the finished ball surface onto the outer surface of the inflated carcass.

In such constructions-the improved valve I is usually applied first to the bladder 2 and then the bladder, together with the valve is inserted into the carcass 3 through a suitable opening and the valve is located with respect to the carcass by impaling the valve upon an inflating needle 4 and using the needle as a guide to lead the valve to its proper location, after which the carcass opening through which the bladder-mas been inserted is sewed up and the bladder inflated to a desired playing pressure. -The inflstinfneedle is then or coiling operation so as to form a. tight, selfcontracting or radially tensioned unit preferably in the shape of a ball or a short cylinder.

The improved valve body iris made of live rubber stock which may be in the form of sheets,

strips, ribbons. bands, yarn or the like and is formedby rolling or winding the rubber stock.

while the same is under tension, or stretched. The stock may also be coated with rubber cement, during the rolling,or winding operation, so that each coil orlamination while being cemented to adjacent coils or laminations is, at-the same time,

tending to contract toward the center of the body.

The cement, if employed, is of non-hardening variety so that once the body is formed it may be punctured ordistorted without breakage and will always return to its normal shape. Thus, the body as a whole, whether the stock is cemented or not, is a tight, resilient self-contracting unit and the contracting force of the windings or laminations tend to squeeze together and close any opening that may be made by a puncturing object.

As shown in Fig. 3, the method of producing the 3 improved valve body consists in stretching a thread, strip or ribbon I of live rubber in a lengthwise direction, as indicated by the arrows ,and, beginning at one end of the stretched or tensioned stock, rolling the stock upon itself to build up a body of the desired sire or diameter. If desired, the rubber stock I may be coated on both sides with rubber cement before the rolling operation is commenced, thus producing a compact radially tensioned body which is prevented from unwinding by the cement. When a retaining means, as shown in Fig. 2, is used the cement is unnecessary.

It will be readily seen that the valve bodies thus formed, because of their self-contracting nature,

may be punctured or otherwise distorted in any,

direction without being torn or destroyed, and that upon withdrawal of the puncturing instrument the radially inward contracting force or tension in the body will immediately and tightly close any opening made by the puncturing instrument, such closure of the prmcturebeing instantaneous as the puncturing instrument is withdrawn. This sealing means, or a pneumatic pressure on the valve member, to effect closure of the puncture.

In use, as shown in Figs. 4 to 8, inclusive, the improved valve body is fastened directly onto the outer surface of a closed elastic bladder and such fastening may be accomplished either by cementing the valve body onto the bladder as shown in Fig. 4, or by cementing'and then vulcanizlng the valve body onto the bladder; the vulcanizing operation in the latter case being of a type that will not impair the live, self-contracting characteristic of the valve body. In the cementing process, the layer of cement I is applied to the bladder before the valve body I isset in place and as shown in Fig. 4, the cement is extended over the surface of the bladder for a considerable distance on every side of the valve body. Cement islikewise applied to the exposed surface of the valve body' and then the bladder, with the valve, is placed within the carcass 3 which has been previously punctured by a. inflating place where the valve is desired to be located.

The valve body I is then impaled on the needle ml at the Lasshowninl'iglhandthevalveandtheblad derareplacedagainsttheinnercarcasssurfsce where they immediately become secured, thearea of the inner carcass surface where the valve is to be located having been first coated with cement. The bladder is then inflated through the needle 4 and the pressure produced within the bladder flrmly presses the same against and around the valve-body and against the inner surface of the carcass I so that when the inflating needle 4 is nithdrawn the flnished structure will be as shown Fig. p

It will be understood that it is not necessary to employ the inflating needle 4 as a guide to locate the valve body within the carcass I since an experienced workman could readily accomplish that act without the aid of a mechanical guide. In this latter case the valve body and the bladder will be placed by hand against the inner carcass surface after which the needle 4 may be inserted. The opening in the carcass through which the bladder is placed and which is preferably located at the opposite side of the ball from the position of.

the valve, may then be sewed and the bladder and carcass inflated and the needle withdrawn.

After the carcass has been inflated the ball construction is flnished by cementing onto the carcass the segment-shaped strips of-leather which comprise the outer protective surface of the ball, the leather covering being indicated at I in Fig. 6, which illustrates the flnished arrangement and application of the valve construction.

Due to the action of the cement I the valve and the bladder adjacent the valve become flrmly amxed to the inner carcass surface after inflation so that an inflating needle canbe repeatedly inserted through the valve body without tearing the same or the bladder away from the carcass.

As shown in Fig. 1, the segment of leather immediately above the position of the valve is preferably provided with a needle aperture I and the outer leather surface is marked in a suitable manner, to locate the valve for future inflating operations.

A modlfled arrangement for securing the valve body I directly to the bladder and to the carcass is shown in Figs. 7 and 8. In this arrangement a rubber patch or reinforcing element II is cemented onto the upper end of the valve body I, and all surfaces of the patch II and the valve body l are then covered with cement so that when the valve body and the bladder are placed within the carcass and inflated the assembly will have the form and arrangement shown in Fig. 8. It will also be understood that the valve body I may be vulcanized to the reinforcing patch II and the patch it in turn vulcanized onto the inner side of the carcass I at the desired location, before the bladder I is placed within the carcass, the bladder contacting surfaces of both the patch and the valve body being coated with cement before the bladder is applied so that .when the bladder is inflated it will be forced against and around the valve body I and the patch Ill and become cemented thereto as shown in Fig. 8.

When a valve body is formed by winding stretched or tensioned rubber stock without coating the stock with cement, it is usually necessary to employ a retainer member, or its equivalent, to prevent unwinding of the valve body and a resultant loss of tension. Such a retainer may be in the nature of the member ll shown in Fig.-2 75 which may be in the form of a rubber wafer having a central internal cavity into which the valve body may be inserted and housed. In such arrangements the body of the wafer II will sufllciently conflne the valve member and the entire device may be applied to an inflatable bladder inthe manner shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, or the wafer housing the valve member may be vulcanized onto the bladder in any suitable manner.

The applicability of the improved valve body to molded articles such as tennis balls is shown in Fig. 9. In such devices a small nipple I2 is usually formed on the inner surface of the molded shell and this nipple may be readily formed with a central cavity in which the valve body may be housed as shown. Thus, a valve may be incorporated in the usual molded structure so as to permit its being kept at the desired playing pressure without disturbing the balance of the ball and without noticeably increasing its weight.

The principal advantages of my improved selfsealing valve reside in the simplicity and low cost of its manufacture, its ease of application to a ball structure, and the arrangement whereby the valve body will not become torn or damaged due to careless or diagonal insertions of the inflating needle. Another advantage found in the cylindrical type of the improved valve body, lies in the axially parallel arrangement of the successive annular layers or laminations of live rubber which tend to direct the inflating needle in an axial direction regardless of the point at which the needle punctures the end of the valve body.

Other advantages lie in the construction wherein the use of liquid sealing fluid is obviated and wherein any puncture is instantly sealed by the mechanical action of the device rather than through the agency of extrinsic pneumatic pressure or an air drying sealing medium. Also, the improved valve may be made small enough and of such light weight that compensating balancing of the ball may be practically dispensed with.

Although but two specific embodiments of this invention have been herein shown and described, it will be understood that details of the construction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following claims,

I claim:

1. A self-sealing air valve core comprising a plurality of successive annular layers of tensioned rubber arranged to form a compact self-contracting body.

2. A self-sealing air valve comprising a body formed of tensioned rubber wound upon itself annularly to provide a compact self-contracting unit, and means to retain said body in a wound and tensioned condition.

3. A self-sealing air valve comprising a body formed of tensioned rubber wound upon itself annularly to provide a compact self-contracting unit, and means to retain said body in a wound and tensioned condition comprising a member having a cavity formed therein to receive and tightly confine said valve body.

4. In a self-sealing air valve, a core comprising a tensioned cement coated rubber band wound upon itself to form a compact self-contracting body.

5. A self-sealing air valve core comprising a plurality of successive annular layers of tensioned cement coated rubber arranged to form a radially self-contracting body.

6. A self-sealing air valve comprising a continuous tensioned cement coated strip of live rubber rolled tightly upon itselfi rubber body having axially parallel annular laminations.

7. A rubber ball carcass having an enclosed molded cavity formed in the wall of said carcass and below the outer surface thereof, and a selfsealing air valve disposed within said cavity and comprising a tensioned rubber band wound continuously upon itself to form a compact body, said valve being tightly confined in said cavity.

8. In a self-sealing air valve, a core comprising a continuous tensioned strip of rubber rolled tightly upon itself to form a compact body having axially parallel annular laminations.

9. A self-sealing air valve core comprising a continuous strip of rubber wound upon itself to form a compact self-contracting body.

JOHN T. RIDDELL.

to form a compact- 

